Development of Indo Super Red
- Thread starter Arowana_forever
- Start date
Thanks bro, may I ask what is your experience with the reds with and without tanning. What were the colour development in each case? Mind share your knowledge?
Hi bro. I won't say I'm hard-core on tanning, where I just leave the tanning light on when it's dark/night. To some people, that's not even considered tanning.
My experience was that it turned into a very good orange (borderline red? ?) after 2 months in my tank. At the LFS, it was at that time the reddest among approx 25-30 reds for sale. I would think in the particular LFS, they perform hard-core tanning and I won't be surprised if they feed them agents to bring out the red (these days they range from hormones to carotene). So I would think my method failed or it wasn't tanning to begin with.
But it is safe to say that red arowana requires constant tanning (lots of tanning lamps plus not too big a tank), so I gave up.
Sorry bro, I'm of not much help here.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Regarding the methods of the LFS, I tend to agree with you that some of these methods are unethic and sometimes even cruel like 24/7 excessive tanning. As a human being and we are faced 24/7 extreme light without the possibility to hide - we simply call it torture or?
I am not a fan of these extreme tanning methods and for sure I will not performe this on my fish. We keep the fish as hobbyist because we love it and therefore want to treat it well.
Cheers
Yup, not all agrees on ways to bring out the best in our pets. Anyway, another thing I didn't share is because I'm not sure if it works on red arowanas too, but it's an interesting thought. I don't use normal arowana tanning lights (whether they are marketed for red, gold, 24k etc). I wanted to get a true full spectrum lights. Did some research and found Samsung chips are best. When I finally bought one, I found out ironically, the light I bought are full spectrum except UV (meant for hydroponics).
Before I continue, I will add that I still insist that genetics play the biggest part in the development of your arowana.
I do have one golden arowana that's kept indoors without direct sunlight at all. It is also using the same lights I'm using with the initial experiment with full spectrum lights as I didn't know it doesn't produce UV spectrum yet. I found that the full spectrum does make the gold rims on the edge of the golden arowana scales more intense.
Red arowana will have the parts where the gold is to be red. I haven't tried out on a red yet. I will think a full spectrum meant for nature style aquascape lighting will function the same. But at night (this is probably cuz mine doesn't contain UV) my tank will look a mellow yellow/golden colours and it's not easy to see the blue in blue base arowana. That will be your drawback if compared to lighting that produces white light for eg. But otherwise, my arowana seems completely relaxed with that light. I'm not sure how this information will help you, but if you're up for unorthodox methods, here's one. Haha....
Before I continue, I will add that I still insist that genetics play the biggest part in the development of your arowana.
I do have one golden arowana that's kept indoors without direct sunlight at all. It is also using the same lights I'm using with the initial experiment with full spectrum lights as I didn't know it doesn't produce UV spectrum yet. I found that the full spectrum does make the gold rims on the edge of the golden arowana scales more intense.
Red arowana will have the parts where the gold is to be red. I haven't tried out on a red yet. I will think a full spectrum meant for nature style aquascape lighting will function the same. But at night (this is probably cuz mine doesn't contain UV) my tank will look a mellow yellow/golden colours and it's not easy to see the blue in blue base arowana. That will be your drawback if compared to lighting that produces white light for eg. But otherwise, my arowana seems completely relaxed with that light. I'm not sure how this information will help you, but if you're up for unorthodox methods, here's one. Haha....
Sweet BB Crossback dude! Very nice body shape and full perlies!
You got an interesting point with the full spectrum light pal.
I use the normal T5 Philips household FL. Typically on 4-5 h per day serving as viewing light for the Red.
But in addition I have also on a T5 Reptile UVA and UVB for about 3-4h per day to mimic the sunlight.
As you might have noticed, I am trying to keep the Red in an environment which is typical for it.
You got an interesting point with the full spectrum light pal.
I use the normal T5 Philips household FL. Typically on 4-5 h per day serving as viewing light for the Red.
But in addition I have also on a T5 Reptile UVA and UVB for about 3-4h per day to mimic the sunlight.
As you might have noticed, I am trying to keep the Red in an environment which is typical for it.
Same Red just with no lights on - only indirect sunlight:
Sorry for the reflection, but I am not an expert in taking proper pictures...
Sorry for the reflection, but I am not an expert in taking proper pictures...
